§4.20.1Exigua parte aestatis reliqua Caesar, etsi in his locis, quod omnis Gallia ad septentriones vergit, maturae sunt hiemes, tamen in Britanniam proficisci contendit, quod omnibus fere Gallicis bellis hostibus nostris inde subministrata auxilia intellegebat, §4.20.2et si tempus anni ad bellum gerendum deficeret, tamen magno sibi usui fore arbitrabatur, si modo insulam adiisset, genus hominum perspexisset, loca, portus, aditus cognovisset; quae omnia fere Gallis erant incognita.
Though but a small part of the summer remained, Caesar, although in these parts, because all Gaul lies toward the north, the winters are early, nevertheless hastened to set out for Britain, because he understood that in almost all the Gallic wars assistance had been furnished thence to our enemies; and even if the season of the year should fail for carrying on war, yet he thought it would be of great service to him if he only visited the island, perceived the character of the people, and became acquainted with the localities, the harbors, and the landing-places; almost all of which were unknown to the Gauls.
§4.20.3Neque enim temere praeter mercatores illo adit quisquam, neque his ipsis quicquam praeter oram maritimam atque eas regiones quae sunt contra Galliam notum est.
For neither does anyone except merchants go there without good reason, nor is anything known even to them except the sea-coast and those regions which are opposite Gaul.
§4.20.4Itaque vocatis ad se undique mercatoribus, neque quanta esset insulae magnitudo neque quae aut quantae nationes incolerent, neque quem usum belli haberent aut quibus institutis uterentur, neque qui essent ad maiorem navium multitudinem idonei portus reperire poterat.
Therefore, having summoned the merchants to him from all quarters, he could learn neither how great was the size of the island, nor what or how numerous were the nations that inhabited it, nor what system of war they had or what customs they used, nor what harbors were convenient for a great number of ships.